Leveraging Quality Management Systems to Prevent Product Liabilities

Abstract

Manufacturing companies should consider the liabilities for their products because the Product Liability Act is recognized as a global standard and, as such, is an inevitable reality in our industrial world. Accidents, incidents, and failures of products will inevitably occur in the system of mass production, mass distribution, and mass consumption. However, companies should not have to be afraid of incidents developing into lawsuits when distributing products to the market. The premise of this paper is to share how proactive companies can prepare countermeasures to prevent product liability accidents from happening and/or effectively address any accidents, incidents, or product failures that do occur. At the management level, the top priority should be to prepare Product Liability Prevention (PLP) and Product Liability Defense (PLD) systems. Implementing an effective quality management can be a good control method to prevent and defend against product liabilities. To maximize the quality management system’s capabilities, an organization should be restructured and given more opportunities for training as well as expanded manpower. (All activity results should be recorded for evidentiary purposes in case of a lawsuit.) To enhance product control measures, a testing and measurement system should be introduced under the concept of state-ofthe-art technology. If a company cannot handle the testing and measurement of products in-house, it can enlist the help of an external organization. With effective prevention and defense systems in place for product liability matters, manufacturing organizations stand a better chance of being successful and long-lasting in the global marketplace.